Developmental theory and therapy: A preliminary investigation of reliability and predictive validity using an inpatient depressive population sample

• Main Author: Rigazio-DiGilio, Sandra A
• Language: ENG
• Published: ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst 1989
• Subjects: Psychotherapy|Personality
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI8917392

This study investigated the reliability of the cognitive-developmental classifications derived from Ivey's Developmental Theory and the predictive validity of the intervention strategies designed in accordance with this therapeutic model. Further, the cognitive-developmental styles of long- and short-term depressives were also examined. Reliability and predictive validity were addressed by researching the following questions: (1) Can the cognitive-developmental level of patients be assessed reliably? (2) If a clinician asks a specific set of questions aimed at eliciting patient verbalizations at varying cognitive-developmental levels, do patients respond at the predicted levels? The data gathered were also analyzed to examine whether the two subgroups of depressed patients differed in their cognitive styles. Specifically, the questions researched were: (1) Do long- and short-term depressives differ in predominant cognitive-developmental style during the assessment phase of an interview? (2) Do short-term depressives respond more predominantly to intervention strategies designed to elicit movement through the eight cognitive-developmental levels espoused by Ivey? Theory and research from the major models of depression etiology and treatment were reviewed and integrated with the Developmental Therapy model. This review indicated that the concepts of the cognitive-developmental model are most compatible with cognitive models of depression and offer the potential of being useful tools in the treatment of these disorders. The sample population consisted of twenty, consecutively admitted, consenting inpatients with diagnoses of mood disorders or adjustment disorders with associated depressed features. Each patient was administered the Beck Depression Inventory, completed demographic data, and participated in a structured interview, the Standard Cognitive-Developmental Interview (SCDI), which is based on Ivey's model. Interview results, as categorized by the companion Cognitive Developmental Classification System (SCDCS), were analyzed using the Pearson product-moment coefficient for reliability, percentages for predictive validity, and t-tests of significance for differences between subgroups. The resulting data indicated that Ivey's model, as operationalized through the SCDI and the SCDCS, does possess strong reliability and predictive validity. The differences in cognitive styles between long- and short-term depressives were, however, not found to be significant. Implications and suggestions for future research and therapeutic utilization were discussed.